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{{Short description|Native American people originally from northern California and Oregon}}
{{Ethnic group|
{{Other uses|Modoc (disambiguation){{!}}Modoc}}
{{Not to be confused with|MODOK}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
|group=Modoc |group=Modoc
|image=] |image=]
|caption=] (Modoc, 1848–1920)
|poptime=800 (2000)
|pop=800 (2000)
|popplace=] &ndash; <br />
|popplace={{Flag|United States}}
&nbsp; ]: 600<br />
|region1= {{Flag|Oregon}}
&nbsp; ]: 200<br />
|pop1=600
|langs=Historically ], now ]
|region3= {{Flag|California}}
|pop3=500
|region2= {{Flag|Oklahoma}}
|pop2=200<ref name=oia> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120424052416/http://www.ok.gov/oiac/documents/2011.FINAL.WEB.pdf |date=2012-04-24 }} (PDF) ''Oklahoma Indian Affairs Commission.'' 2011: 22. Retrieved 5 January 2012.</ref>
|langs=], formerly ]
|rels= |rels=
|related=], ] |related=], ]
}} }}
]
{{otheruses}}
The '''Modoc''' are an ] people who historically lived in the area which is now northeastern ] and central ]. Currently, they include two ], the ] in Oregon<ref name='FEIS 2001-02-01'>{{Cite web| title=Appendix O: Federally Recognized Indian Tribes with Interest in the Planning Area | work=Western Oregon Plan Revision Final Environmental Impact Statement For the Revision of the Resource Management Plans of the Western Oregon Bureau of Land Management Districts | publisher=Bureau of Land Management | pages=516–517| date=1 February 2001 | url=http://www.blm.gov/or/plans/wopr/final_eis/files/Volume_4/Volume_IV_App_O.pdf}}</ref> and the Modoc Tribe of ], now known as the ].


==Language==
The '''Modoc''' tribe is a group of ] people who originally lived in the area which is now northeastern ] and central southern ]. They are currently divided between ] and ].
The Modoc, like the neighboring ], spoke dialectic varieties of the ], a branch of the ]. Both peoples called themselves ''maklaks'', meaning "people".<ref>Waldman, pp. 134, 168</ref> To distinguish between the tribes, the Modoc called themselves ''Moatokni maklaks'', from ''muat'' meaning "South".<ref>Kroeber, p. 319</ref> The ], a band of the ], called them ''Lutuami'', meaning "Lake Dwellers".<ref name='Pease' />


==Current population and geography==
This article covers the Modoc as an ], ], or ].
], 1901.]]
About 600 Modoc live in ], in and around their ancestral homelands. This group includes those who stayed on the reservation during the ], as well as the descendants of those who chose to return in 1909 to Oregon from Indian Territory in Oklahoma or Kansas. Since that time, many have followed the path of the ].<ref>''A Guide to the Indian Tribes of the Pacific Northwest'', entries "Klamath Tribes" and "Modoc"</ref> The shared tribal government of the Klamath, Modoc and Yahooskin in Oregon is known as the ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.klamathtribes.org/|title=The Klamath Tribes|access-date=28 June 2013}}</ref>

Two hundred Modoc live in ] on a small reservation in ], that the federal government purchased for them. Originally they were placed on the Quapaw Indian Reservation in Oklahoma's far northeast corner. They are descendants of the band Captain Jack (]) led during the Modoc War. The federal government officially recognized the ] in 1978, and its constitution was approved in 1991.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/m/mo002.html|last=Self|first=Burl E.|title=Modoc|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History & Culture|publisher=Oklahoma Historical Society|access-date=28 June 2013}}</ref>

==Early population==
{{Further|Population of Native California}}
Estimates for the pre-contact populations of most native groups in California have varied substantially. ] put the aboriginal population of the Modoc at 400.<ref>{{cite book | last = Mooney | first = James | title = The Aboriginal Population of America North of Mexico | publisher = Smithsonian Institution | year = 1928 | series = Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections | location = Washington, D.C. | volume=80 | issue=7 | oclc = 1729762 |page=18}}</ref> ] estimated the Modoc population within California as 500 at the year 1770.<ref>Kroeber, p. 883</ref> University of Oregon anthropologist Theodore Stern suggested that there had been a total of about 500 Modoc.<ref name="Stern, pp. 446–456">Stern, pp. 446–456</ref> In 1846, the population may have included "perhaps 600 warriors (an overestimate, probably)".<ref name="Thrapp, p. 1276">Thrapp, p. 1276</ref>


==History== ==History==

===Pre-Contact===
===Pre-contact===
Prior to the 18th century, when European explorers first encountered the Modoc and opened trade relations, the Modoc, like all ], caught salmon during salmon runs, and migrated seasonally to hunt and gather other food. Their housing included portable tents and earthen dug-out lodges.
Until the 19th century, when European explorers first encountered the Modoc, like all ], they caught salmon during salmon runs and migrated seasonally to hunt and gather other food.<ref name=arnold507>Arnold, ''et al.'', p. 507</ref> In winter, they built earthen dugout lodges shaped like beehives, covered with sticks and plastered with mud, near lake shores with reliable sources of seeds from aquatic ] plants and fishing.<ref name='Pease'>Pease, pp. 46–48</ref>


====Neighboring groups==== ====Neighboring groups====
In addition to the Klamath, with whom they shared a language and the ], the groups neighboring the Modoc home were the following: In addition to the Klamath, with whom they shared a language and the ], the groups neighboring the Modoc home were:
*] on the Klamath River *] on the Klamath River;
*] Athabaskans and ] west over the ] *] Athabaskans and ] west over the ];
*] east in the desert *] east in the desert;
*] and ] further down the Klamath River *] and ] further down the Klamath River; and
*] or ''Pit River'' to the south, in the meadows of the Pit River drainages.

The Modoc, Northern Paiute, and Achomawi shared ].<ref name='Pease' />


====Settlements==== ====Settlements====
The known Modoc village sites are ''Agawesh'' where Willow Creek enters ], ''Kumbat'' and ''Pashha'' on the shores of ], and ''Wachamshwash'' and ''Nushalt-Hagak-ni'' on the ] The known Modoc village sites are ''Agawesh,'' where Willow Creek enters ], of the ''Gombatwa·s'' or Lower Klamath Lake People Band; ''Kumbat'' and ''Pashha'' on the shores of ] of the ''Pasganwa·s'' or Tule Lake People Band; and ''Wachamshwash'' and ''Nushalt-Hagak-ni'' on the ] of the ''Goġewa·s'' or Lower Lost River People Band.<ref name="Stern, pp. 446–456"/><ref name=arnold507/><ref name='Kroeber 305'>Kroeber, pp. 305–335</ref><ref name=ohs>{{cite web|url=http://www.ohs.org/education/oregonhistory/historical_records/dspDocument.cfm?doc_ID=102CE754-DAAC-594C-63428804F1EA49D2|first=Robert|last=Donnelly|title=Klamath Indian Reservation|work=The Oregon History Project|publisher=Oregon Historical Society|access-date=11 June 2013}}</ref> The Modoc have also been known as the Modok (Brandt and Davis-Kimball xvi).


====First Contact==== ===First contact===
In the 1820s, ], an explorer for the ], established trade with the ] people to the north of the Modoc. In the 1820s, ], an explorer for the ], established trade with the ] north of the Modoc.<ref>Waldman, p. 134</ref>


===South Emigrant Trail established=== ===Applegate Trail established===
Lindsay Applegate, accompanied by fourteen other settlers in the Willamette and Rogue valleys in western Oregon, established the South Emigrant Trail in ] between a point on the ] near ] and the ]. The purpose of this new route was to encourage ]s to western Oregon, to eliminate the hazards encountered on the Columbia Route, to provide an alternate route in the event of trouble with the ] (the British ] controlled the Columbia Route), and to provide a route which would be open except for a short winter season each year. Brothers ] and ], accompanied by 13 other white settlers, established the ], or South Emigrant Trail, in 1846. It connected a point on the ] near ], and the ] in western Oregon.<ref>Barr, p. 275</ref> The new route was created to encourage European-Americans to come to western Oregon, and to eliminate the hazards encountered on the Columbia Route.<ref>''Soil Survey of Douglas County Area'', p. 20</ref> Since the Hudson's Bay Company controlled the Columbia Route, development of an alternate route enabled migration even if there was trouble between the United States and the United Kingdom.<ref>Grubbs, p. 25</ref> The Applegate brothers became the first known white people in present-day ].<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Nature Notes from Crater Lake|volume=10|issue=1|date=June 1937|location=Crater Lake National Park, Oregon|publisher=National Park Service|title=Outline of Events in the History of the Modoc War|last=Fisher|first=Don C.|oclc=15927646}}</ref>


The opening of the Applegate Trail appeared to bring the first regular contact between the Modoc and the European-American settlers, who had largely ignored their territory before.<ref>Pease, pp. 60–66</ref> Many of the events of the ] took place along the trail.<ref>Philip, p. 66</ref>
Applegate and his party were the first ''known'' white men to enter what is now the ]. On their exploring trip eastward they attempted to pass around the south end of ] but the rough lava along the shore forced them to seek a route around the north end of the lake.

The opening of the South Emigrant Trail brought the first regular contact between the Modoc and the European settlers, who had largely ignored the area before. Many of the events of the ] took place along the South Emigrant Trail.


===Emigrant invasion=== ===Emigrant invasion===
From 1846 to 1873, thousands of emigrants entered the Modoc territory. Beginning in 1847, the Modoc raided the invading emigrants on the Applegate Trail<ref name=michno9091>Michno, pp. 90–91</ref> under the leadership of Old Chief Schonchin.<ref name="Thrapp, p. 1276"/>
Beginning in 1847, the Modocs raided emigrants on the South Emigrant Trail. The Modocs, numbering about 600 warriors under the leadership of ], inhabited the region around ], Tule Lake, and ] in northern California and southern Oregon.


In September ], the Modocs destroyed an emigrant train at ] on the east shore of Tule Lake. Of the 65 persons in the train only three escaped immediate death. Two young girls, were taken prisoners and reportedly killed several years later by jealous Modoc women, and one man who made his way to ]. Hearing the news of the attack, Yreka settlers organized a party, under the leadership of ], to go to the scene of the massacre to bury the dead and avenge their death. Crosby's party had one skirmish with a band of Modocs. In September 1852, the Modoc destroyed an emigrant train at Bloody Point on the east shore of ], killing all but three of the 65 people in the party. The Modoc took two young girls as captives.<ref name=michno9091/><ref>Heard, p. 33</ref> One or both of them may have been killed several years later by jealous Modoc women.<ref name=murray2428>Murray, pp. 24–28</ref> The only man to survive the attack made his way to ]. After hearing his news, Yreka settlers organized a militia under Sheriff Charles McDermit, Jim Crosby, and Ben Wright. They went to the scene of the massacre to bury the dead and avenge their deaths. Crosby's party had a skirmish with a band of Modoc and returned to Yreka.<ref name=arnold507/><ref>Walling, p. 204</ref><ref>Murray, p. 74</ref>


The attacks on emigrants by the Modocs aroused settlers at Yreka to send out a party under the leadership of ], a notorious Indian hater, in ]. Accounts differ as to what actually took place when Wright's party finally met the Modocs on Lost River, but most agree that Wright planned to ambush the Modocs. Wright attacked, killing approximately 80 Modocs. This loss led to the general mistrust of the white settlers by the Modocs. Wright and a small group stayed on to avenge the deaths. He was a notorious Indian hater.<ref> U.S. Forest Service. Retrieved 28 May 2012.</ref> Accounts differ as to what took place when Wright's party met the Modoc on the Lost River, but most agree that Wright planned to ambush them, which he did in November 1852. Wright and his forces attacked, killing approximately 40 Modoc, in what came to be known as the "Ben Wright Massacre."<ref name=murray2428/>

It has been estimated that at least 300 emigrants and settlers were killed by the Modocs during the years 1846 to 1873. Perhaps as many Modocs were killed by settlers and slave traders.


===Treaty with the United States=== ===Treaty with the United States===
]'' (Tobey) Riddle, a Modoc; and her husband Frank Riddle, with four Modoc women sitting in the front two rows. Photographed by ], 1873.]]
The ] the ]s, Modocs, and Yahooskin band of Snake tribes signed a treaty in ], establishing the ]. The treaty had the tribes cede the land bounded on the north by the 44th parallel, on the west and south by the ridges of the Cascade Mountains, and on the east by lines touching ] and Henley Lake back up to the 44th parallel. In return, the United States was to make a lump sum payment of $35,000, and annual payments totalling $80,000 over 15 years, as well as providing infrastructure and staff for the reservation. The treaty provided that, if the Indians drank or stored intoxicating liquor on the reservation, the payments could be withheld and that the United States could locate additional tribes on the reservation in the future. The tribes requested Lindsay Applegate as the agent to represent the United States to them.
The United States, the Klamath, the Modoc, and the ] band of ] tribes signed a treaty in 1864 that established the ].<ref name=ohs/> It required the tribes to cede the land bounded on the north by the ], on the west and south by the ridges of the ], and on the east by lines touching ] and Henley Lake back up to the 44th parallel.<ref name=report1865>''Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs'', pp. 104–105</ref>


In return, the United States was to make a lump sum payment of $35,000, and annual payments totaling $80,000 over 15 years,<ref name=arnold507/> as well as provide infrastructure and staff for a reservation. The treaty provided that if the Indians drank or stored intoxicating liquor on the reservation, the payments could be withheld and that the United States could locate additional tribes on the reservation in the future.<ref name=report1865/>
Under the terms of this treaty the Modocs, with Old Chief Schonchin as their leader, gave up their lands in the Lost River, Tule Lake, and Lower Klamath Lake regions, and moved to the reservation in the Upper Klamath Valley. The Indian agent estimated the total population of the three tribes at about 2,000 when the treaty was signed.


The treaty required that the Modoc surrender their lands near Lost River, Tule Lake, and Lower Klamath Lake in exchange for lands in the Upper Klamath Valley.<ref name=arnold507/><ref>Neiderheiser, p. 260</ref> They did so, under the leadership of Chief Schonchin.<ref>Heard, p. 275</ref> The Indian agent estimated the total population of the three tribes at about 2,000 when the treaty was signed.<ref>''Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs'', pp. 10, 102</ref>
The land of the reservation did not provide enough food for the comfort of both the Klamath and the Modoc peoples. Illness and tension between the tribes increased. The Modoc requested a separate reservation closer to their ancestral home, but neither the federal nor the California government would approve it.


The land of the reservation did not provide enough food for both the Klamath and the Modoc peoples. Illness and tension between the tribes increased. The Modoc requested a separate reservation closer to their ancestral home, but neither the federal nor the California government approved it.<ref name=arnold507/><ref>Waldman, p. 169</ref>
In 1870, a group of Modocs under the leadership of Keintpuash (] to the Europeans) left the reservation to reestablish a village near the Lost River. because they had not been represented in the treaty negotiations and often fought with the Klamaths.

In 1870 '']'' (also called Captain Jack) led a band of Modoc to leave the reservation and return to their traditional homelands. They built a village near the Lost River. These Modoc had not been adequately represented in the treaty negotiations and wished to end the harassment by the Klamath on the reservation.<ref>Ruby and Brown, p. 211</ref>


===Modoc War=== ===Modoc War===
] (Captain Jack), a Modoc leader in the Modoc War.]]
]
''Main article: ]'' {{Main|Modoc War}}
In November 1872, the ] was sent to Lost River to attempt to force Kintpuash's band back to the reservation. A ] broke out, and the Modoc escaped to what is called ] in what is now ], ]. The band of fewer than 53 warriors was able to hold off the 3,000 U.S. Army troops for several months, defeating them in combat several times. In April 1873, the Modoc left the Stronghold and began to splinter. Kintpuash and his group were the last to be captured, on June 4, 1873, when they voluntarily gave themselves up. U.S. government personnel had assured them that their people would be treated fairly and the warriors would be allowed to live on their own land.<ref name=arnoldrange>Arnold, ''et al.'', pp. 507–509</ref>


The U.S. Army tried, convicted and executed Kintpuash and three of his warriors in October 1873 for the murder of Major General ] earlier that year at a parley. Canby had violated agreements made with the Modoc. The Army sent the rest of the band to Oklahoma as ] with ] as their chief. The tribe's spiritual leader, ], was also forced to remove to ].<ref name=arnoldrange/><ref>Kessel and Wooster, p. 160</ref>
In November ] the US Army was sent to Lost River to attempt to force the Keintpuash's band back to the reservation. A ] broke out, and the Modocs escaped to ] in what is now ], ]. The band of 60-90 warriors was able to hold off the 3,000 troops of the US Army for several months, defeating them in combat several times. In April, ] the Modocs left the Stronghold and began to splinter. Keintpuash and his group were the last captured on ], ] when they voluntarily gave themselves up, after assurances from the US government that their people would be treated fairly and that all of the warriors would be allowed to live on their own land. Keintpuash and three of his warriors were hung in October of that year for the murder of Major General ], after the General violated agreements that had been made with the Modocs, and the rest of the band was sent to Oklahoma as ] with ] as their chief.


In the 1870s, ] brought Indians to speak to Indian rights groups in eastern cities. One of the delegations was from the Madoc and Klamath tribes. In ] the group in Oklahoma was given permission, if they wished, to return to Oregon. Several did, but most stayed at their new home. In the 1870s, ] brought Indians to speak to Indian rights groups in eastern cities. One of the delegations was from the Modoc and Klamath tribes. In 1909, the group in Oklahoma was given permission to return to Oregon. Several people did, but most stayed at their new home.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724034726/http://www.modoctribe.net/history.html |date=2008-07-24 }}, Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma official website</ref>

==Geography==
===Oregon===
About 600 members of the tribe currently live in ], in and around their ancestral homelands. This group included the Modocs who stayed on the reservation during the Modoc War, as well as the descendants of those who chose to return to Oregon from Oklahoma in 1909. Since that time, many of them have followed the path of the ].

===Oklahoma===
200 Modocs lived in ] on the ] at the far northeast corner of Oklahoma. They are descendants of the band led by ] (Keintpuash) during the Modoc War of ] - ]. The Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma was officially recognized by the United States government in 1978, and their constitution was approved in 1991.


==Culture== ==Culture==
]]]


The religion of the Modoc is not known in detail. The number five figured heavily in ritual, as in the ''Shuyuhalsh'', a five-night dance rite of passage for adolescent girls. A ] was used for purification and mourning ceremonies.<ref>Kroeber, pp. 320–321</ref>
===Language===
The original language of the Modoc and that of the Klamath, their neighbors to the north, were branches of the family of ]. The Klamath and Modoc languages together are sometimes referred to as Lutuamian languages.


==Namesakes==
Both peoples called themselves ''maklaks'', meaning people. When they wanted to distinguish between themselves, the Modoc were called ''Moatokni maklaks'', from ''muat'' meaning "South".
], ], ]; ]; and numerous other places are named after this group of people.


===Religion=== ==See also==
* ]
The religion of the Modoc is not known in detail. The number 5 figured heavily in ritual, as in the ''Shuyuhalsh'' a five-night dance ritual for adolescent girls. A sweat lodge was used for purification and mourning ceremonies.
* ]


==Further reading==
The mythology of the Madoc was very similar to that of surrounding peoples, with a creator, his son, and a number of wildlife representations.
* {{cite book|author-link=Rebecca Solnit|last=Solnit|first=Rebecca|title=River of Shadows: Eadweard Muybridge and the Technological Wild West|pages=|publisher=Viking|location=New York, New York|year=2003|isbn=0-670-03176-3|oclc=49796219|url=https://archive.org/details/riverofshadowsea00soln/page/101}}


==Classifications== ==Notes==
{{refbegin}}
The Modoc are grouped with the ]&mdash;the peoples who originally lived on the ]. They were most closely linked with the Klamath people.
{{div col}}
* {{cite book|title=The Encyclopedia of North American Indian Wars, 1607–1890|editor1=Arnold, James R. |editor2=Tucker, Spencer C. |editor3=Wiener, Roberta|year=2011|location=Santa Barbara, California|volume=1|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-85109-697-8|oclc=838905208}}
* {{cite book|last=Barr|first=Tom|title=Scenic Routes & Byways: Oregon|year=2012|publisher=Globe Pequot Press|location=Guilford, Connecticut|isbn=978-0-7627-7956-7|oclc=756579553}}
* {{cite book|last=Grubbs|first=Bruce|title=Hiking Nevada: A Guide to Nevada's Greatest Hiking Adventures|edition=Second|year=2006|location=Helena, Montana|publisher=Falcon Press|isbn=978-0-7627-3417-7|oclc=70915489}}
* {{cite book|last=Heard|first=Joseph Norman|title=Handbook of the American Frontier: Four Centuries of Indian-White Relationships|volume=IV|series=Native American Resources series|location=Lanham, Maryland|publisher=Scarecrow Press|year=1997|isbn=9780810832831|oclc=498503287}}
* {{cite book|editor1=Kessel, William B. |editor2=Wooster, Robert|title=Encyclopedia of Native American Wars and Warfare|year=2005|publisher=Facts on File|location=New York, New York|isbn=0-8160-3337-4|oclc=44509237}}
* {{cite book | last = Kroeber | first = Alfred Louis | title = Handbook of the Indians of California | publisher = Dover Publications | year = 1976 | orig-year = 1925 | location = New York, New York | series = Bulletin (Smithsonian Institution. Bureau of American Ethnology) | issue = 78 | isbn = 9780486233680 | oclc = 2972541 | url = https://archive.org/details/handbookofindian00kroe }}
* {{cite book|last1=Michno|first1=Gregory F.|last2=Michno|first2=Susan J.|title=Circle the Wagons!: Attacks on Wagon Trains in History and Hollywood Films|year=2009|publisher=McFarland & Company|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|isbn=978-0-7864-3997-3|oclc=231671302}}
* {{cite book|last=Murray|first=Keith A.|title=The Modocs and Their War|url=https://archive.org/details/modocstheirwar0000murr|url-access=registration|year=1959|series=The Civilization of the American Indian|location=Norman, Oklahoma|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press|isbn=9780806113319}}
* {{cite book|last=Neiderheiser|first=Leta Lovelace|title=Jesse Applegate: A Dialogue With Destiny|year=2010|location=Mustang, Oklahoma|publisher=Tate Publishing & Enterprises|isbn=978-1-61739-229-0|oclc=701809610}}
* {{cite journal | last = Pease | first = Robert W. | title = Modoc County | journal= University of California Publications in Geography | volume = 17 | publisher = University of California Press | year = 1965 | location = Berkeley and Los Angeles, California | issn = 0068-6441 | oclc = 3714154}}
* {{cite book|last=Philip|first=Neil|title=The Great Circle: A History of the First Nations|year=2006|publisher=Clarion Books|location=New York, New York|isbn=978-0-618-15941-3|oclc=62330691|url=https://archive.org/details/greatcirclehist00phil}}
* {{cite book|last1=Ruby|first1=Robert H.|last2=Brown|first2=John A.|title=Indians of the Pacific Northwest: A History|url=https://archive.org/details/indiansofpacific0000ruby|url-access=registration|year=1981|series=The Civilization of the American Indian|location=Norman, Oklahoma|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press|isbn=0-8061-2113-0|oclc=7272798}}
* {{cite book|last1=Ruby|first1=Robert H.|last2=Brown|first2=John A.|last3=Collins|first3=Cary C.|title=A Guide to the Indian Tribes of the Pacific Northwest|edition=Fourth|location=Norman, Oklahoma|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press|year=2013|series=The Civilization of the American Indian|isbn=978-0-8061-4024-7}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |last=Stern |first=Theodore |editor1=Walker, Deward E. |editor2=Sturtevant, William C. |encyclopedia=Handbook of North American Indians |title=Klamath and Modoc |date=June 1998 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution |volume=12, Plateau |location=Washington, D.C. |pages=446–456 |isbn = 0-16-049514-8 |oclc=39401371}}
* {{cite book|last=Thrapp|first=Dan L.|title=Encyclopedia of Frontier Biography|volume=III|year=1988|location=Lincoln, Nebraska|publisher=University of Nebraska Press|isbn=9780803294202|oclc=23583099}}
* {{cite book|author=U.S. Department of Agriculture|title=Soil Survey of Douglas County Area, Oregon: Part I|location=Washington, D.C.|publisher=Natural Resources Conservation Service|year=2004|oclc=58436713}}
* {{cite book|author=U.S. Office of Indian Affairs|title=Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs: for the Year 1865|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IXFGAQAAIAAJ&pg=PR1|location=Washington, D.C.|publisher=Government Printing Office|year=1865|oclc=10495312}}
* {{cite book|last=Waldman|first=Carl|title=Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes|edition=Third|year=2006|location=New York, New York|publisher=Checkmark Books|isbn=978-0-8160-6273-7|oclc=67361229}}
* {{cite book|last=Walling|first=Albert G.|title=Illustrated History of Lane County, Oregon|location=Portland, Oregon|publisher=Printing house of A.G. Walling|year=1884|isbn=9780598541451|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iXEUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PP1|oclc=16696100}}
{{div col end}}
{{refend}}


==Miscellaneous== ==References==
{{reflist}}
], and ] are named for this group of people.


==External links== ==External links==
{{Commons category|Modoc}}
*
*, official website
*
*, official website
* *
*{{usurped|1=}}
*{{Wikisource-inline|list=
** {{Cite Collier's|wstitle=Modocs |short=x |noicon=x}}
** {{Cite NSRW|wstitle=Modocs|short=x |noicon=x}}
** {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Modoc |short=x |noicon=x}}
** {{Cite NIE|wstitle=Modoc|year=1905 |short=x |noicon=x}}
** {{Cite AmCyc |last=Shea |first=J. G. |author-link=John Gilmary Shea |wstitle=Modocs |short=x |noicon=x}}
}}


{{Indigenous peoples of California}}
==References==
{{Native American Tribes in Oklahoma}}
* ''Annual report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs to the Secretary of the Interior for the year 1865: Reports of Agents in Oregon'' Washington: United States Office of Indian Affairs, 1865.
{{Authority control}}
* Kroeber, A. L. ''Handbook of the Indians of California''. Wahsington: Smithsonian Institution, 1925.
* Waldman, Carl. ''Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes''. New York: Checkmark, 1999. ISBN 0-8160-3964-X
* Personal notes from Buddy Crimm, nephew of Captain Jack.


{{DEFAULTSORT:Modoc People}}
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Latest revision as of 03:44, 20 November 2024

Native American people originally from northern California and Oregon For other uses, see Modoc. Not to be confused with MODOK. Ethnic group
Modoc
Toby "Winema" Riddle (Modoc, 1848–1920)
Total population
800 (2000)
Regions with significant populations
 United States
 Oregon600
 Oklahoma200
 California500
Languages
English, formerly Modoc
Related ethnic groups
Klamath, Yahooskin
Photo of Modoc Yellow Hammer taken by Joseph Andrew Shuck before 1904. From the Lena Robitaille Collection at the Oklahoma Historical Society Photo Archives.

The Modoc are an Indigenous American people who historically lived in the area which is now northeastern California and central Southern Oregon. Currently, they include two federally recognized tribes, the Klamath Tribes in Oregon and the Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma, now known as the Modoc Nation.

Language

The Modoc, like the neighboring Klamath, spoke dialectic varieties of the Klamathan/Lutuamian language, a branch of the Plateau Penutian language family. Both peoples called themselves maklaks, meaning "people". To distinguish between the tribes, the Modoc called themselves Moatokni maklaks, from muat meaning "South". The Achomawi, a band of the Pit River tribe, called them Lutuami, meaning "Lake Dwellers".

Current population and geography

Chief Yellow Hammer painted in traditional clothing by E.A Burbank, 1901.

About 600 Modoc live in Klamath County, Oregon, in and around their ancestral homelands. This group includes those who stayed on the reservation during the Modoc War, as well as the descendants of those who chose to return in 1909 to Oregon from Indian Territory in Oklahoma or Kansas. Since that time, many have followed the path of the Klamath. The shared tribal government of the Klamath, Modoc and Yahooskin in Oregon is known as the Klamath Tribes.

Two hundred Modoc live in Oklahoma on a small reservation in Ottawa County, Oklahoma, that the federal government purchased for them. Originally they were placed on the Quapaw Indian Reservation in Oklahoma's far northeast corner. They are descendants of the band Captain Jack (Kintpuash) led during the Modoc War. The federal government officially recognized the Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma in 1978, and its constitution was approved in 1991.

Early population

Further information: Population of Native California

Estimates for the pre-contact populations of most native groups in California have varied substantially. James Mooney put the aboriginal population of the Modoc at 400. Alfred L. Kroeber estimated the Modoc population within California as 500 at the year 1770. University of Oregon anthropologist Theodore Stern suggested that there had been a total of about 500 Modoc. In 1846, the population may have included "perhaps 600 warriors (an overestimate, probably)".

History

Pre-contact

Until the 19th century, when European explorers first encountered the Modoc, like all Plateau Indians, they caught salmon during salmon runs and migrated seasonally to hunt and gather other food. In winter, they built earthen dugout lodges shaped like beehives, covered with sticks and plastered with mud, near lake shores with reliable sources of seeds from aquatic wokas plants and fishing.

Neighboring groups

In addition to the Klamath, with whom they shared a language and the Modoc Plateau, the groups neighboring the Modoc home were:

The Modoc, Northern Paiute, and Achomawi shared Goose Lake Valley.

Settlements

The known Modoc village sites are Agawesh, where Willow Creek enters Lower Klamath Lake, of the Gombatwa·s or Lower Klamath Lake People Band; Kumbat and Pashha on the shores of Tule Lake of the Pasganwa·s or Tule Lake People Band; and Wachamshwash and Nushalt-Hagak-ni on the Lost River of the Goġewa·s or Lower Lost River People Band. The Modoc have also been known as the Modok (Brandt and Davis-Kimball xvi).

First contact

In the 1820s, Peter Skene Ogden, an explorer for the Hudson's Bay Company, established trade with the Klamath people north of the Modoc.

Applegate Trail established

Brothers Jesse and Lindsay Applegate, accompanied by 13 other white settlers, established the Applegate Trail, or South Emigrant Trail, in 1846. It connected a point on the Oregon Trail near Fort Hall, Idaho, and the Willamette Valley in western Oregon. The new route was created to encourage European-Americans to come to western Oregon, and to eliminate the hazards encountered on the Columbia Route. Since the Hudson's Bay Company controlled the Columbia Route, development of an alternate route enabled migration even if there was trouble between the United States and the United Kingdom. The Applegate brothers became the first known white people in present-day Lava Beds National Monument.

The opening of the Applegate Trail appeared to bring the first regular contact between the Modoc and the European-American settlers, who had largely ignored their territory before. Many of the events of the Modoc War took place along the trail.

Emigrant invasion

From 1846 to 1873, thousands of emigrants entered the Modoc territory. Beginning in 1847, the Modoc raided the invading emigrants on the Applegate Trail under the leadership of Old Chief Schonchin.

In September 1852, the Modoc destroyed an emigrant train at Bloody Point on the east shore of Tule Lake, killing all but three of the 65 people in the party. The Modoc took two young girls as captives. One or both of them may have been killed several years later by jealous Modoc women. The only man to survive the attack made his way to Yreka, California. After hearing his news, Yreka settlers organized a militia under Sheriff Charles McDermit, Jim Crosby, and Ben Wright. They went to the scene of the massacre to bury the dead and avenge their deaths. Crosby's party had a skirmish with a band of Modoc and returned to Yreka.

Wright and a small group stayed on to avenge the deaths. He was a notorious Indian hater. Accounts differ as to what took place when Wright's party met the Modoc on the Lost River, but most agree that Wright planned to ambush them, which he did in November 1852. Wright and his forces attacked, killing approximately 40 Modoc, in what came to be known as the "Ben Wright Massacre."

Treaty with the United States

L to R, standing: US Indian agent, Winema (Tobey) Riddle, a Modoc; and her husband Frank Riddle, with four Modoc women sitting in the front two rows. Photographed by Eadweard Muybridge, 1873.

The United States, the Klamath, the Modoc, and the Yahooskin band of Snake tribes signed a treaty in 1864 that established the Klamath Reservation. It required the tribes to cede the land bounded on the north by the 44th parallel, on the west and south by the ridges of the Cascade Mountains, and on the east by lines touching Goose Lake and Henley Lake back up to the 44th parallel.

In return, the United States was to make a lump sum payment of $35,000, and annual payments totaling $80,000 over 15 years, as well as provide infrastructure and staff for a reservation. The treaty provided that if the Indians drank or stored intoxicating liquor on the reservation, the payments could be withheld and that the United States could locate additional tribes on the reservation in the future.

The treaty required that the Modoc surrender their lands near Lost River, Tule Lake, and Lower Klamath Lake in exchange for lands in the Upper Klamath Valley. They did so, under the leadership of Chief Schonchin. The Indian agent estimated the total population of the three tribes at about 2,000 when the treaty was signed.

The land of the reservation did not provide enough food for both the Klamath and the Modoc peoples. Illness and tension between the tribes increased. The Modoc requested a separate reservation closer to their ancestral home, but neither the federal nor the California government approved it.

In 1870 Kintpuash (also called Captain Jack) led a band of Modoc to leave the reservation and return to their traditional homelands. They built a village near the Lost River. These Modoc had not been adequately represented in the treaty negotiations and wished to end the harassment by the Klamath on the reservation.

Modoc War

Kintpuash (Captain Jack), a Modoc leader in the Modoc War.
Main article: Modoc War

In November 1872, the U.S. Army was sent to Lost River to attempt to force Kintpuash's band back to the reservation. A battle broke out, and the Modoc escaped to what is called Captain Jack's Stronghold in what is now Lava Beds National Monument, California. The band of fewer than 53 warriors was able to hold off the 3,000 U.S. Army troops for several months, defeating them in combat several times. In April 1873, the Modoc left the Stronghold and began to splinter. Kintpuash and his group were the last to be captured, on June 4, 1873, when they voluntarily gave themselves up. U.S. government personnel had assured them that their people would be treated fairly and the warriors would be allowed to live on their own land.

The U.S. Army tried, convicted and executed Kintpuash and three of his warriors in October 1873 for the murder of Major General Edward Canby earlier that year at a parley. Canby had violated agreements made with the Modoc. The Army sent the rest of the band to Oklahoma as prisoners of war with Scarfaced Charley as their chief. The tribe's spiritual leader, Curley Headed Doctor, was also forced to remove to Indian Territory.

In the 1870s, Peter Cooper brought Indians to speak to Indian rights groups in eastern cities. One of the delegations was from the Modoc and Klamath tribes. In 1909, the group in Oklahoma was given permission to return to Oregon. Several people did, but most stayed at their new home.

Culture

A Modoc Harvest diorama at the Milwaukee Public Museum

The religion of the Modoc is not known in detail. The number five figured heavily in ritual, as in the Shuyuhalsh, a five-night dance rite of passage for adolescent girls. A sweat lodge was used for purification and mourning ceremonies.

Namesakes

Modoc Plateau, Modoc National Forest, Modoc County, California; Modoc, Indiana; and numerous other places are named after this group of people.

See also

Further reading

Notes

References

  1. 2011 Oklahoma Indian Nations Pocket Pictorial Directory. Archived 2012-04-24 at the Wayback Machine (PDF) Oklahoma Indian Affairs Commission. 2011: 22. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
  2. "Appendix O: Federally Recognized Indian Tribes with Interest in the Planning Area" (PDF). Western Oregon Plan Revision Final Environmental Impact Statement For the Revision of the Resource Management Plans of the Western Oregon Bureau of Land Management Districts. Bureau of Land Management. 1 February 2001. pp. 516–517.
  3. Waldman, pp. 134, 168
  4. Kroeber, p. 319
  5. ^ Pease, pp. 46–48
  6. A Guide to the Indian Tribes of the Pacific Northwest, entries "Klamath Tribes" and "Modoc"
  7. "The Klamath Tribes". Retrieved 28 June 2013.
  8. Self, Burl E. "Modoc". Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History & Culture. Oklahoma Historical Society. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
  9. Mooney, James (1928). The Aboriginal Population of America North of Mexico. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections. Vol. 80. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution. p. 18. OCLC 1729762.
  10. Kroeber, p. 883
  11. ^ Stern, pp. 446–456
  12. ^ Thrapp, p. 1276
  13. ^ Arnold, et al., p. 507
  14. Kroeber, pp. 305–335
  15. ^ Donnelly, Robert. "Klamath Indian Reservation". The Oregon History Project. Oregon Historical Society. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
  16. Waldman, p. 134
  17. Barr, p. 275
  18. Soil Survey of Douglas County Area, p. 20
  19. Grubbs, p. 25
  20. Fisher, Don C. (June 1937). "Outline of Events in the History of the Modoc War". Nature Notes from Crater Lake. 10 (1). Crater Lake National Park, Oregon: National Park Service. OCLC 15927646.
  21. Pease, pp. 60–66
  22. Philip, p. 66
  23. ^ Michno, pp. 90–91
  24. Heard, p. 33
  25. ^ Murray, pp. 24–28
  26. Walling, p. 204
  27. Murray, p. 74
  28. "Modoc NF History, 1945 -- Chapter II, Early History Emigrant Traills and Indian Warfare." U.S. Forest Service. Retrieved 28 May 2012.
  29. ^ Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, pp. 104–105
  30. Neiderheiser, p. 260
  31. Heard, p. 275
  32. Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, pp. 10, 102
  33. Waldman, p. 169
  34. Ruby and Brown, p. 211
  35. ^ Arnold, et al., pp. 507–509
  36. Kessel and Wooster, p. 160
  37. History Archived 2008-07-24 at the Wayback Machine, Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma official website
  38. Kroeber, pp. 320–321

External links

California Indigenous peoples of California
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